Finally Atiku Replies Comedian I Go Dye’s Open Letter – “Dear I Go Dye”
naijaloaded.com.ng Dec 8, 2017 1:00 PM
Some days ago, Nigerian comedian I Go Dye wrote an open letter via Instagram to former vice-president of Nigeria and a 2019 presidential aspirant, Atiku Abubaka, telling him not to use sentimental empathy on the youths to forward his political ambitions.
This was due to the fact that when Atiku resigned form APC two weeks ago, he mentioned that the ruling party APC had forgotten about the Nigerian youths.
Atiku Abubakar has now replied him here’s what he wrote ;
Dear I Go Dye,
I read your post on Instagram. It was hard to miss it because it was on every major news website. I would like to say that you were mostly right.
The questions you raised in your post are similar to the ones I have been asked by other young people on social media, so I am replying this not just to you as a person, but to all young Nigerians who have asked similar questions.
Firstly, you are right. The Nigerian youth have often been taken for granted, and almost every leader in our history has taken young people for granted.
But it’s important to point how this started?—?for people like me who saw Independence; our leadership was mostly driven by young people.
Then came the coups, and the civil war, and then more coups. Nigeria ended up with a long period of military dictatorship for many decades, in which time; those young leaders aged, but still remained leaders. Fela, Gani, Enahoro, and Beko were young leaders, yet remained leaders until their demise.
That was because of the instability brought on by decades of instability. By the time we got to 1999, the young people of the day had not been prepared for leadership, because there was no leadership or apprenticeship process under dictatorships.
This is one of the reasons the age of leaders has continued to rise. That was because of the leadership stagnation brought on by decades of political instability.
Imagine a school that did not graduate any students for 5 years, by the time the top class finally graduates, you will have a backlog of undergraduates.
Our young people are not to blame; we need to remedy this national failure. Last week, there were local government elections in Akwa Ibom State, with over 60% of the seats won by young people, less than 35 years old.
That’s how progress can be made. Young people need to participate from the grassroots, all the way across board. Appointments are good, but getting elected is even better.
I also understand the issues around funding elections which keep women and young people out, and I will address this in an article I am publishing soon.
I do understand your frustration on the issue, however. I tell people my age that to understand young Nigerians, we need to understand the difference between Nigerian and Naija.
Naija embodies the hopes and dreams of young Nigerians, the country they love and long to go home to when they are abroad.
Naija is the country that brings them pride in music, film, comedy, fashion, and technology. It is the country of Wiz Kid, Asa, David O, Tuface, the Olympic bobsled team, Iwobi and Don Jazzy Again.
Nigeria on the other hand, is the country of their parents, the country where leaders are constantly failing them, of Boko Haram, of herdsmen violence, of recessions and joblessness. Our young people need us to make our country live up to the aspirations of Naija by fixing the problems associated with Nigeria.
I think it’s important to address the accusation about my tenure as Vice President, that I did nothing for young people. Firstly, as VP, I can only be judged on the responsibilities I was given. A VP obviously is not the driver of government. For example, you can’t blame Prof Osinbajo for all that is going on with the current government. He can only do what he’s allowed to do.
But let me speak about what you can judge me by, my assigned responsibilities. As VP, I assembled what is arguably the best Economic Team ever in Nigeria. It was made up of young, world class pro
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